Why We See Racism in Others but Not Ourselves

Why We See Racism in Others but Not Ourselves

Whenever I teach my college course on racism, I start out the first day by asking students to raise their hand if they are racist.

I bet you can guess how many actually raise their hand. That’s right: Zero.

That isn’t particularly surprising. I mean, who wants to “out” themselves as a racist in front of an entire class of fellow students? But when scientists pose the same question to students whose responses are completely anonymous, the same pattern emerges. This suggests that it isn’t just about social pressure and political correctness. Instead, it seems that people who engage in racist behaviors are simply unwilling or unable to admit their own racism, even to themselves. But why?

The fact that people fail to report their racism even when responses are anonymous got me thinking. Was it possible the reason people who engage in racist behavior don’t label themselves as racist because they essentially have a “mental blindspot” when it comes to their own behavior? What would happen if they saw someone else engage in the same offensive behavior they had? Would they see those behaviors as racist when they were committed by someone other than themselves?

That isn’t particularly surprising. I mean, who wants to “out” themselves as a racist in front of an entire class of fellow students? But when scientists pose the same question to students whose responses are completely anonymous, the same pattern emerges. This suggests that it isn’t just about social pressure and political correctness. Instead, it seems that people who engage in racist behaviors are simply unwilling or unable to admit their own racism, even to themselves. But why? The fact that people fail to report their racism even when responses are anonymous got me thinking. Was it possible the reason people who engage in racist behavior don’t label themselves as racist because they essentially have a “mental blindspot” when it comes to their own behavior? What would happen if they saw someone else engage in the same offensive behavior they had? Would they see those behaviors as racist when they were committed by someone other than themselves?